Firefly
by crazytomboy78
Summary: Songfic. While Tony's in China in search of Gene and his father, Pepper's stuck in the city, missing him to death. May work on this at a later date.


**Song-**_Firefly _by _A-Teens_

**(A/N: What can I say? I *LOVE* this song XD )**

_When I said go I never meant away  
>You ought to know the freaky games we play<br>could you forgive and learn how to forget  
>hear me as I'm calling out your name<br>Firefly come back to me  
>make the night as bright as day<br>I'll be looking out for you  
>tell me that your lonely too<br>firefly come lead me on  
>follow you into the sun<br>that's the way it ought to be  
>firefly come back to me<em>

Pepper sighed as she sat in science class. Boring, silent, science class. Without Tony in class to make some quirky comment or correction, it just wasn't the same. She got bored not having the back of his head to admire without being able to control it. Especially in those moments when she remembered that Tony, her dearest Tony, was on the other side of the world on his search for his father. How could one be so far away from the ones who love him most?

Pepper's thoughts were then disrupted by Rhodey.

"By the sound of your miserable sighing I take it you miss Tony?" He asked. Pepper nodded.

"You caught me," She said nonchalantly.

"Well we're calling him after school, so you can tell him how much you miss him then." Rhodey said, in hopes it would comfort her.

"Ugh, the end of the day can't come any sooner…" She whined. As the bell rang, the two picked up their books and moved on to their next class.

Her next class, of course, didn't help. Mostly everything made her think of Tony. Sure, science and math class were givens, and maybe even drama class. But then it got to the point where she saw something that Tony had commented on before and that made her think of him. Or something with red on it, which made her think of Iron Man, too. Basically everything reminded her of him. She just missed walking next to him. She missed his quirky commentary on the things he saw every day. She could make a never-ending list of things she missed about Tony.

"What's up Pep? You look a little down." Happy asked as he met her at her locker.

"Aw, nothing, I just kinda miss Tony is all."

"Tell me about it, my grades have gone down so much without Stark doing my homework…I mean, without Stark to study with…" Happy blurted. Pepper chuckled lightly at the comment.

"But if it'll cheer you up, I can try to say something smart."

Pepper chuckled some more. "Thanks, Happy, but I don't think it'd be the same. Rhodey and I are calling him later anyways, I can hold up till then."

"What is it with you and Stark anyways? Do you like, like him or something?" Happy asked. Pepper's eyes widened and she blushed heavily.

"What? No! No. Not at all. We're just friends, that's all. It's just that I've gotten so used to having him around and all that it's weird not having him here." Pepper answered. Happy shrugged and made his way to his own class.

_You and me  
>we shared a mystery<br>we were so close  
>like honey to the bee<br>And if you tell me how to make you understand  
>I'm minor in a major kinda way<em>

After school, Pepper rushed to meet Rhodey at his locker so they could make their way to the armory to call Tony.

"Come on, Rhodey, can't you move any faster? I want to call Tony already!" Pepper whined.

"Alright, alright already Pepper! A guy can only move so quickly. And unlike you I don't have a crush on him." Rhodey teased.

"Hey, I do _NOT _have a crush on him." Pepper defended.

"You do so."

"I do not."

"Do so."

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Do so…hey!"

Pepper crossed her arms in frustration and defeat as Rhodey chuckled.

"Gets ya every time…" Rhodey said as he zipped up his backpack, slung it over his shoulder and closed his locker. Upon noticing him done, she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the armory.

"Alright, Pepper, I'm coming! You can stop trying to rip my arm off now." Rhodey said, breaking free of her grasp. The two caught a cab to the armory and Pepper made sure they found their way to a place to sit.

Pepper rushed Rhodey to hurry up and dial the number already, and when he did, it rang twice before Tony picked up.

"Hey Tony! How's China? Did you find Gene or your dad yet? How much longer are you going to be there? We miss you so much, school's not the same without you! Co—" Pepper babbled excitedly. Rhodey cut her off, knowing she'd go on forever.

"Pepper, let him talk."

"_Hey, Pep. I'm doing good here, but I haven't found Gene or dad yet. But I'm not done looking. I don't think I'll be back for a few weeks, though. How's school?" _Tony responded, letting out a chuckle.

"Ugh, its sooo boring, there's nothing going on without you here. You _couldn't _come home sooner." Pepper responded.

"_Hey, I wanna get home just as much as you guys want me home. But I'm not done searching yet. How's War Machine without Iron Man?"_

Rhodey made sure to say something before Pepper got her chance. "War Machine's kicking some super villain butt, but it's hard on my own. Man, I don't know how you did it all that time on your own."

"_Eh, you get used to it when you're me." _

"Well, good thing I'm not you then."

"_Well, as much as I love talking with you guys, I gotta go. I have to wake up early tomorrow to meet with a guy who's gonna give me a tour of Hong Kong's secret criminal underworld." _

"Alright, call back soon as you can, Tony! Can't wait for you to come home! Bye!" Pepper responded cheerily. Before hanging up, Rhodey threw in his own goodbye.

"Geez, Pepper, can you ever talk…" Rhodey complained, suddenly getting an alert on his phone of criminal activity.

~…~

As Pepper sat in the systems chair and Rhodey fought off Killer Shrike and Unicorn from a robbery, she began to think of Tony again.

_Firefly come back to me  
>make the night as bright as day<br>I'll be looking out for you  
>tell me that your lonely too<br>firefly come lead me on  
>follow you into the sun<br>that's the way it ought to be  
>firefly come back to me<br>Fly firefly through the sky  
>come and play with my desire<br>don't be long don't ask why  
>I can't wait another night <em>

It was the simple things she couldn't wait to see again; like his crystal-like blue eyes and the way they would light up when he was happy. Or the way she could always imagine a little twinkle in his eye when he winked. Or the way the sun managed to hit his shoulders perfectly, at the right angle, to make his eyes sparkle and his smile shine. She missed his overprotective nature, and how he would always stand a little bit in front of her when he suspected they were in the face of danger. She missed his heroic essence.

Once again, she could make a list a mile long, but to put it simply, she couldn't stand the distance between them and she couldn't stand not being able to admire him secretly as she always did when she sat beside him every day.

'_In short, I need you back home…'_

**I was hoping I could squeeze a point in there without being repetitive. But it kinda ended up that way, didn't it? /: Eh, it was my way of taking my mind off of Iron Man: Mandarin's Adventures, because as of right now, I have absolutely NO idea what to do for the whole Makluan ring test thing…I'm trying as hard as I can, I promise.**

**Oh, by the way, I found this AWESOME interview off of The World's Finest Facebook page. It's about the second half of season 2, for those of us who haven't seen it yet. I don't want to give too much away, but it's SO awesome…!**

**http:/**

**marvel.**

**Toonzone**

**.net**

**That should show up, but if each part doesn't, you can always feel free to message me. Hopefully you'll all get as much of a thrill out of this as I do :3 Maybe then I'll have someone to geek with…can't wait till tomorrow's episode! XD**

**Anyways, review!**


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